Lori Vallow Daybell Found Guilty Of Murdering Her Two Children And Plotting To Kill Husbands First Wife

Lori Vallow Daybell was found guilty on all charges of murdering her two children and plotting to murder her husband's first wife by a jury.

Vallow Daybell, who pled not guilty, was charged with two charges of first-degree murder and three counts of conspiracy in the murders of her children, 17-year-old Tylee Ryan and 7-year-old Joshua "JJ" Vallow, in 2019, as well as Tammy Daybell, Chad Daybell's first wife.

When she is sentenced, she will face life in jail.

A jury of seven men and five women began deliberations on Thursday afternoon and returned a unanimous guilty judgement on Friday afternoon.

Vallow Daybell remained still while the judgement was read out.

She will be sent from Ada to Fremont counties for additional procedures and punishment. Judge Steven Boyce stated that sentence will take around three months.

As the jury were dismissed, a cross-armed Vallow Daybell rose, briefly conferred with her counsel, and went out of the courthouse, accompanied by a bailiff.

According to a May 2021 indictment, Vallow Daybell was charged with grand theft on suspicion of altering bank accounts to receive Social Security payments on behalf of her children after their deaths. Prosecutors stated Thursday that she didn't report her children missing in order to continue receiving the money, according to the East Idaho News.

After the decision was read, JJ's biological grandpa, Larry Woodcock, expressed thanks to the jury outside the courthouse, according to CNN affiliate KBOI-TV.

"Thank y'all, thank y'all, thank y'all," he shouted, arms outstretched. "What they saw and went through is mind-boggling."

Woodcock and his wife, Kay, have offered a $20,000 reward for information leading to the return of the children in January 2020.

"I hope that nobody ever has to go through this," he remarked on Friday. "I hope that nobody ever has to see or hear the details of what happened to JJ, Tylee, and Tammy."

Chad Daybell, who also pled not guilty, will face his charges separately.

Tammy Daybell passed away peacefully in her sleep in October 2019. Weeks later, Vallow Daybell married Daybell.

In June 2020, officials discovered the bones of Daybell's stepchildren in his backyard in Fremont County, Idaho. He faces two felony counts of conspiracy to destroy, modify, or hide evidence, as well as two criminal counts of destruction, alteration, or concealment of evidence.

In closing remarks, Madison County prosecutor Rob Wood encouraged the jury to convict Vallow Daybell on all counts on which she is charged. The month-long trial ended Thursday.

"You must convict her," Wood said as the courtroom watched photographs of Vallow Daybell's children and Tammy Daybell, according to East Idaho News.

In a statement issued Friday, Wood and Fremont County prosecutor Lindsey Blake said they were "very pleased" with the verdict.

"We want to reassure each of you that we remain committed to pursuing justice for Tylee Ryan, JJ Vallow, and Tammy Daybell," said the statement.

Before resting their case on Tuesday, the defence filed a Rule 29 petition requesting acquittal before the case is presented to the jury on the grounds that there was insufficient evidence to support the allegations, according to KBOI-TV. On Thursday, Judge Steven Boyce dismissed the application on all grounds.

"No one here thinks Lori actually killed anyone; that's why she's being charged with conspiracy," Jim Archibald, Vallow Daybell's attorney, said Thursday.

"Will the kids be returned if you find her guilty?" Nope. Will the kids be returned if you find her not guilty? "No way," Archibald stated to East Idaho News.

People close to the pair, who married shortly after Vallow Daybell's children went missing, have characterised them as members of a doomsday cult with radical religious beliefs, according to East Idaho News.

According to the May 2021 indictment, the pair "did endorse and espouse religious beliefs for the purpose of" excusing or promoting the deaths of the children and Tammy Daybell.

Last year, their tale was included in a Netflix true-crime documentary.